Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 12:40:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Author James
Subject: Return of a Real Dark Knight 2
Disclaimer: This story is fiction. There are two celebrities who will
appear from time-to-time. The other characters are fictitious. Any
similarities to persons living or dead are completely coincidental.
In this story, I have continued the adventures of Batman, my Batman, which
his story first began in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight" in the Boy Band
section of this archive. It spanned 250 chapters. You will find many
universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy
this.
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss
Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.
Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics
and Warner Bros.
X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel
Comics and 20th Century Fox.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice.
Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in
case, I have myself covered.
I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. I do hope that you
enjoy it!!!
Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are
commenting on. Thanks.
authorjames2002@yahoo.com
I also have several online messenger services. If you want to chat with me
in real time, email me and tell me the services you use and I will tell you
my screen name.
Chapter 2 Arrivals
The next morning Lance and I both got up and showered up for the
day.
"Good morning," I greeted Sarah and Preston as we met in the
hallway.
"Good morning, daddy," Sarah said giving me a kiss on the cheek.
Even at sixteen, she still called me daddy and Lance dad.
"Morning, dad," Preston said kissing me on the cheek as well. He
called me dad and Lance pop.
The two were spitting images of each other. The fact they were
twins made it understandable. They were both blonde hair and blue eyes and
very youthful features. The only noticeable difference between the two was
that Preston was much taller than Sarah. She stood around five foot eight
and Preston was close to six-feet.
I headed into the kitchen with the two.
"What would you like for breakfast?" I asked.
"I don't know," they both said.
"Surprise us!" Sarah replied.
Lance came down and joined us in the kitchen.
"Good morning everyone," Lance said with a grin.
"Good morning, pop," Preston said.
"Good morning, dad," Sarah greeted.
Lance sat on the stool. Sarah and Preston sat at the table.
As I was preparing breakfast, the doorbell rang.
"I got it," Lance said as he got off the stool he always sat on
while I made our meals, and headed into the living room. I heard the door
open and the happy voices coming from our friends.
"Hi, Lance," Jessica replied.
"Hey buddy," Justin said.
"Hi, Uncle Lance," Randy said.
"Hi! Come in! We've been expecting you!"
I heard the door close and the four of them came in the kitchen.
"Hi, Preston. Hi Sarah." Randy went over and hugged his cousins.
"Hey, Randy!" they both greeted. "We didn't know you were coming!"
Jessica and Justin came in and greeted the children with hugs and
helloes.
"Hi, Uncle Eric," Randy said coming over and giving me a big hug.
Randy was Jessica and Justin's sixteen-year-old son and came around
often to visit Lance, the kids, and me. Since he was always around us, he
came to calling us "uncle". In appearance, he was the spitting image of
his dad, with one exception. His hair was always blonde, whereas Justin's
hair was brown and curly. Randy looked like Justin did when they made
NSYNC's first album. And, to round out his personality, he was as gay as
gay could be, in both meanings of the word. He was always happy and he
loved men.
"Hi, Randy. It's good to see you! How have you been?"
"Good."
"How is Miguel?"
"He's doing okay."
Miguel was the Latino boyfriend Randy had. They met in the ninth
grade and started hanging out together. Then, they came out to each other
and started dating for the past two years. They went slow, which is always
good in any relationship.
"Hi, Justin," I replied as I gave him a hug. No matter how long a
time span went between us, part of me always felt toward him the way I did
when I first met him twenty years ago. I loved Lance with all my heart and
always would, but one always has special feelings for their first.
"Hi, Eric."
"How have you been?"
"Really good, thanks."
Justin and I released our embrace and Jessica stepped up to me.
"How are you, Eric? You look good."
"Thanks. So do you."
I gave Jessica a big hug. She had to hold back on her embrace,
though. She still had her Slayer strength and could hurt me easily. As
you may recall, Jessica was a Vampire Slayer and went by the name Huntress
when she patrolled at night. Since then, she has retired and a new Slayer
has taken over Los Angeles. Jessica helps out every now and then, but for
the most part, she devotes her life to Justin and Randy.
"Is everyone hungry?" I asked. "I just started breakfast."
"What are you making?" Randy asked.
"Blueberry pancakes and French Toast."
"I'm in!" he called out. That boy could eat, let me tell you. And
he still kept his great figure.
"I'll have some, too," Justin and Jessica added.
"Who wants to eat on the patio?" Lance asked.
"I do!" Randy again answered enthusiastically.
"Want to give me a hand with the table and chairs?"
"Sure."
"I'll help, too."
Lance, Justin and Randy went to the pool side to set up the patio
furniture. Sarah and Preston grabbed the plastic plates and dinnerware,
cups and napkins and headed out to the patio to help out. Jessica walked
over and sat on the stool Lance was sitting on earlier.
"How goes the patrolling?" she asked.
"It's going okay. Nothing new going on. All seems pretty quiet."
"That's good. We've had plenty of excitement in the past to last a
lifetime."
"Several lifetimes."
We both chuckled.
"Are you going to patrol while we are here?"
"Yes. I'll cut back a little, but I can't completely stop."
"Just be careful. Randy still doesn't know. And I don't want him
to know. It's best if he is kept as far away from that as possible."
"Have you had to answer any questions about you helping the Slayer
in Los Angeles?"
"Not really. When he asks, I just tell him I have to help some old
friends from a job I used to do. He accepts it and goes on about his day.
"And as for Batman, he is still enthralled by the pointy-eared
hero. There are times he acts like he has a crush on Batman."
I chuckled at that one. "He's young. He will grow out of it. One
day, he will realize that being a hero is more than a mask."
"That's what I've said about you and Lance."
I smiled at Jessica and finished up breakfast. After placing the
French toast and pancakes on platters, Jessica and I carried the food out.
As we exited the patio, Randy was talking about stuff going on at school.
"So Miguel told Aiden, the quarterback of the football team, that
he was an ignorant bigot for treating me the way he did. Sean, the
linebacker, swung his fist at Miguel and Miguel ducked. Sean hit Aiden and
broke his nose. Miguel and I ran and laughed."
Justin, Sarah, Preston, and Lance laughed. Then Lance asked, "Did
any teacher find out?"
"Yep. And when they did, they talked to Aiden and his parents
about respecting people's differences. He has to take a class in the
summer on Diversity."
"Good. Diversity should be a requirement for everyone in high
school," Jessica said as she sat down after handing out the plates.
"This world is slowly changing," Lance replied. "In the past
twenty years, Florida lifted the ban on same-sex adoption as well as
same-sex marriages. Several other states did the same. Things are
changing. People are learning and growing. There is hope."
I sat down next to Lance and everyone ate.
After breakfast, Randy helped me clean up the dishes. Everyone was
so hungry there were no leftovers, which is always nice. Sarah and Preston
sat and talked with their Uncle Justin and Aunt Jessica. They were
fascinated with them, especially the part of Justin being a singer, and
loved them dearly.
"Would you like to go with me to the Center today?" I asked as I
handed him the last dish to put in the dishwasher.
"That would be cool."
"I'm not going to stay long. But I do have to check some things
out."
After telling everyone where I was going and asking if anyone
wanted to go with me, and Randy asking Jessica and Justin if he could go,
Randy and I set off toward the teen center.
"Good morning, Carol," I said as I entered the center.
"Good morning."
"How was last night?"
"It went okay. A few phone calls and several teens came in. They
are doing okay now."
"Good. Glad to hear it."
Randy and I went back to my office.
"Hey, Mitchell," I said. "I'm here for my messages."
Mitchell handed me four pink slips.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," he replied.
Suddenly, an alarm went off. We all turned to the doorway. I ran
out and looked out. I noticed a teen with a gun standing near the
fountain. I grabbed the phone to call 9-1-1 and discovered the line was
dead.
"Lock the door," I said to Mitchell. "Then get back in one of the
offices and lock that door."
"What about you?" Randy asked.
"I'm going down the hall to my private room. The phone line runs
separate than these."
Randy nodded. I kissed him on the head and told him to get in my
office. Once out the door, I heard the door lock and I made my way down to
my room. After dialing 9-1-1 and giving the report, the sound of glass
breaking caught my attention. Rather than going down to the cave to
change, I didn't want to waste time so I headed back to the foyer. As a
mutant, I could still use my powers.
I neared the mouth of the corridor and to my surprise saw a
teenager wearing a red costume with gold buttons, knife strap and knife
around his left leg, and a gold mask completely covering his face. A red
hat rested on top of his head and he wielded a walking stick with an
anarchy symbol on top. He was fighting with the teenager who had the gun.
The teen pointed the gun at the masked young man. The mysterious
youth, however, swung his walking stick up and knocked the gun out of the
teen's hand. Then he spun around and kicked the teen in the head knocking
the center's would-be assailant to the ground.
"You shall not disturb this valiant operation that is for the
people," the masked teen said as he placed handcuffs on the youth.
I walked out to the foyer and the gold-faced young man turned to
me.
"Thank you for you help, Mr...."
"The name is Anarky," the masked man said. "And I am merely doing
what should have been done. Your center protects those society deems
misfits. I wager that there are no true misfits except for politicians.
They create laws and stereotypes that harm people. You, however, do what
you can to heal. And I respect and admire that."
"Thank you," I replied.
In the distance police sirens rang out, getting louder as the
patrol cars neared.
"I must take my leave," Anarky said. "But I will be keeping an eye
on the teen center. I do not want any harm to come to it."
"Thank you, again. I believe I speak for all of us when I say
'thank you'."
Anarky shook my hand and ran out the door. It looked as if the
center had a new protector. Batman could take some time off.
I went back and got Randy and the others telling them what
happened. After giving the officers a description of what happened, they
carted off the youth. I hoped in my heart that the young man who attacked
the center would get the help he needed. Randy and I got in my car and
headed back.
"That was weird," Randy said as we pulled out of the parking lot.
"What was weird?"
"Why didn't Batman show up?"
"Batman works at night. He isn't very scary or mysterious in the
black costume if he shows up in the daylight."
"What about that Anarky guy? I mean, I wonder if Batman knows
him."
"I don't know," I replied.
"I hope Anarky is a good guy. If not, he's going to get his ass
kicked by Batman."
"He seems like a good guy. He did something to help the center.
That puts him on the good list as far as I'm concerned."
Randy nodded and the rest of the ride was quiet.
That night, Sarah, Preston and Randy went out to a club. I trusted
them to be good and I knew I could count on Preston to keep the other two
in line. Preston was very responsible. I wanted him to also be a teenager
and enjoy himself. He did, for the most part. He did well in school, got
straight A's, and was always on the Honor Roll. Lance and I were proud of
him. We were proud of Sarah, too. She had a level head on her shoulders
even though she was a bit spunky. I could trust her to do the right thing.
"Are you going to go out?" Lance asked me after the children left.
"I should," I replied. "The city still needs protecting. And I'm
the only one in the city to do the protecting."
"Do you want some assistance?" Jessica asked. "I can still hold my
own, you know."
"You just got in this morning. It shouldn't be too eventful
tonight. I'll do a quick sweep and be back in about two or three hours.
You three can catch up."
I went down to the basement and entered the secret room in the
back. Lance and I had discovered a connecting sewer tunnel that came out
to a culvert a few miles away. The culvert was abandoned about ten years
ago when an entirely knew sewer system was put in. I had set up a small
cave in a service room where I kept a suit and the motorcycle. There was a
small PC also connected to Oracle and I could access the database anytime.
Deciding to just patrol like the night before, I suited up and
mounted the motorcycle. No reason to check in with Oracle tonight. I
revved the motorcycle and headed out through the sewer system.
A black figure moved across the rooftops stealthily. At first
glance, one would believe it to be the Batman. However, at closer
examination, one would find it wasn't Batman, the ears were not as long and
the figure did not have a cape. Claws, however, and a whip were the
weapons of this being.
It arrived at one of the local clubs and peered down through the
skylight. It found the persons it was looking for, the blonde-haired and
blue-eyed twins dancing on the floor. He noticed another blonde dancing
with the twins. He watched them for a moment until he heard a rustling
behind him. He turned to see....
"Catman," I said to the villain that turned from the skylight.
"You," he said with contempt.
"It's been a long time. Twelve years, I believe."
"Too long," Catman replied.
"Where have you been? Out robbing other cities?"
"Training for the day I can face you."
"Here we are, face to face. What did you have in mind?"
I looked narrowly at the villain before me. This villain I had
hunted around fifteen years ago. He had avoided me every time we tangled.
I believed him to be a vampire with his speed, skill and strength. He had
disappeared around ten years ago and only recently reappeared. His frame
was smaller and his voice seemed younger. Perhaps it was a vampire sired
by the first Catman. Regardless he was really difficult to deal with.
"Why do you do it, Catman? Why commit the crimes you do?"
"I do it only to train."
"Train for what?"
"Train to fight you, bloodsucker."
Catman dove at me. I grabbed his wrists and rolled backwards,
planting my foot in his midsection and flipping him over me. He landed
with a thud and I flipped to my feet and turned. Catman had done the same
thing and was ready for me. He swung his leg at me and I ducked. I didn't
expect him to turn around and kick again so quickly. His foot connected
with my face and I spun around kneeling. His impact wasn't as strong as it
used to be. It seemed he wasn't a vampire, either. That was a plus.
Catman came at me and tried to kick me. I grabbed his foot and
spun him around dropping him to the floor. I rolled and brought my foot
down on his chest. He clutched his chest and rolled away from me. He
stood and his claws extended further than what they were originally.
"You don't stand a chance now, Bats."
To Be Continued...